Tim Kaine has won reelection to his third term as the junior U.S. senator from Virginia. The Democrat defeated Republican challenger Hung Cao in Tuesday’s election. Cao is a 25-year Navy veteran who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Political observers said Cao faced an uphill battle. That’s because of Virginia’s moderate electorate, aversion to Trump and Kaine’s salience with voters. Kaine won his 2018 race by 16 percentage points. Virginia hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2002. That’s when the centrist John Warner won his final term.
